Thursday, June 20, 2013

James Gandolfini was a really sweet man, who made it his job to show other guys - usually tougher guys - generally are, too:

In a 2012 interview with The Times, Gandolfini spoke about his role in the coming-of-age film “Not Fade Away” on which he collaborated once again with "Sopranos" creator David Chase. In the film about rebellious rock 'n' roll-minded teenager growing up in New Jersey in the 1960s, Gandolfini plays Pat, a father, husband and WWII vet who provides a secure home life to an ungrateful wife, son and daughter.

“This was an hommage to my old man," said the actor. "My father wasn't as antagonistic [as his character] but he was old school — Brooklyn, cement mason, bricklayer. He didn't understand me or my generation. He took care of his family, took care of his children."

"What we as children didn't realize is our father was a man who had dreams, aspirations and maybe there were things he wanted to do and places he wanted to go and he couldn't because he had a family," he continued. "When I realized that as a kid, I wished I was a better son."

How many other people, in this Father-hating society, will admit they fucked up? By misreading the previous generation's men, they created chaos from the mistake?

I still fondly recall sharing a piece of pie with my father in a diner, after we'd watched "Cooley High" together, because he wanted me to understand how it was when he came up. (He'd had a heart attack, and his side of the family - who, unbeknownst to me, knew where I was - reconnected us in an effort to raise his spirits.) We talked for hours, about everything, but when it came down to what happened to he and I, my mother - our family - his head sank, hard, and I got an inkling of life's crushing power.

He didn't explain it, in detail, to me. He couldn't. In some ways, he didn't have to.

That intimidating man's body language said it all:

There was nothing he could do - not against the world.

A lesson I, too, didn't take that seriously - until my own family went awry,...

Comments

"The Crack Emcee is the Truth-teller and the Trickster, he is the Jokerman: he is the Black Conservative who has found his own ‘Slow Train Coming.’ To repurpose a bit of Dylan history: the commenters are yelling at him ‘Judas’ and his reply is ‘I don’t believe you.’"

"In a different time and place, Crack and I knew each other pretty well and his work inspired me. Though more political and sociological, he covers a similar ground from a non-believers perspective, but is unabashedly conservative politically. Check it out, but it's deep dark water; the feints may be indistinguishable from the sincere and it's not for the faint-of-heart."

"Raising his Pimp Hand to the Lunatic Fringe. Yeah, I list him three times. You need to read his blog. Danger: You might not get it at first but I assure you that when you do, you will slap yourself in the head like the idiot you once were. Read it. Love it. Learn it. And that pile of smelly goo at yer’ feet? That’s just the entrails of your stinking idols baking in the hot sand of the Crack Emcee’s arena."

"He imbues his words with so much bite, wit and shading that a lyric sheet doesn't begin to suggest the depth of what he's conveying. What he does is articulate soul-knowledge, those truths we hide from or can't find the words for. You listen to it with mouth agape, not because it's radical in content but because it's raw and honest, unconcerned with the truth-gagging politics of celebrity -- which perhaps makes it radical after all. If Paul Mooney and Nina Simone had a baby, then ignored it, leaving it to raise itself up by its own brilliant and righteously embittered genes, the Crack Emcee would be the result."

"I have been mulling over for awhile now how I might act as a ‘force for good’ in this world. I am particularly interested in the danger associated with cults and indoctrination at all levels of the human experience. How might I help combat this? The Crack Emcee does it,...in addition to blogging on his many other interests, and he has been a big inspiration."

"Day after day, post after post, he gives incredible insight into issues we're all pursuing, but he's got this funky, incredible, hilarious, SPOT-ON take on things. He is a one-man Time Magazine, the way it SHOULD be.

"I just came across The Macho Response. A lovely blog,...that describes the writer's journey from Democrat to Republican. There are lots of pretty pictures illustrating his story. What he looks at with a particularly bright eye is the occultism that is at the core of the Democrat world view today."

"A politically-incorrect blog out in the Bay Area…There is an occasional picture that is not quite appropriate to an office environment, although I’m not sure this by itself justifies a 'NSFW' warning…language isn’t fit for family viewing. The ideas are definitely dangerous. Unsuitable opinions. Terrible taste. Pictures of strange ugly creatures. Yup, we’re cousins, alright,...I’m certainly gonna read this 'Macho Response' guy."

As a former homeopathic 'doctor', I commend you for your bravery and brilliance.

Your blog is like an antidote to the 'New' Age too-cool-for-school-aid that America's been drinking like it's going out style...which, with the help of brilliant minds like you, hopefully it is. The sooner the better, for all our sakes.

I can't thank you enough for saving me from the eau de toilet/oprahahaha cesspool..."